Man convicted of intentional exposure to HIV

Published: Wednesday, July 31, 2013 at 8:17 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, July 31, 2013 at 8:17 p.m.

A Larose man will serve 15 years in prison after pleading no contest Wednesday to charges that he intentionally exposed Lafourche Parish sheriff's deputies to HIV and drove while drunk.

Reggie Guilbeau, 41, plead guilty in court to his fifth driving while intoxicated charge and no contest to three counts of intentional exposure of a peace officer to AIDS. AIDS, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, is a condition caused by HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus.

Guilbeau accepted a plea deal the District Attorney's Office offered in 2010 in which he agreed to serve 15 years for DWI and the maximum sentence for the intentional exposure charges, according to District Attorney Cam Morvant. All of the sentences are to be served concurrently, resulting in a 15-year sentence.

The maximum sentence for intentional exposure of a peace officer to AIDS is 11 years.

State law says “no person shall intentionally expose a police officer to any AIDS virus through any means or contact without the knowing and lawful consent of the police officer when the offender has reasonable grounds to believe the victim is a police officer acting in the performance of his duty.”

In August 2010, Lafourche sheriff's deputies responded to a domestic disturbance at Guilbeau's home, according to Sheriff's Office reports. He and his girlfriend were drinking all day when they began fighting. Guilbeau's girlfriend, Monique Ayo, had scratched his face during their fight. Guilbeau threw an ice chest at her car and shattered the windshield.

When deputies arrived, Guilbeau was not there anymore. Guilbeau arrived shortly after the deputies, according to reports.

Guilbeau was belligerently drunk when he pulled up in his Ford F-150 truck and deputies placed him under arrest, reports say. He kicked a deputy in the shin while he was placed in a squad car. Then he repeatedly kicked the door. While deputies attempted to subdue Guilbeau, he told them he was going to have them fired and threatened to kill them. He was being questioned by one of the deputies when he kicked him and referred to him with a racial slur.

Later, while being booked, Guilbeau laughed as he said he was HIV positive and hoped the deputies contracted HIV from the scratch on his face, according to reports.

Guilbeau also refused to breathe into the blood-alcohol content analyzer, according to reports.

While deputies were discussing this in another room, they heard Guilbeau screaming, reports say. When they returned they found Guilbeau with his pants around his ankles and feces on the floor. Guilbeau said he could hold it no more, according to police reports.

“There is no HIV in fecal material unless there is blood. So there is no chance of transmission of HIV from fecal matter,” said Dr. Ronald Wilcox, program director for Delta AIDS Education Training Center in New Orleans.

Guilbeau also spit on a deputy while being transferred to Lafourche jail, according to police reports.

According Morvant, all that is needed to be convicted of intentional exposure of a peace officer to AIDS is intent.

Prosecutors were prepared to call eight to 10 witnesses for a trial scheduled for Wednesday, Morvant said. The trial would have lasted up to three days.

If he was found guilty during trial, Guilbeau could have faced a maximum of 30 years with hard labor for his fifth DWI. Prosecutors were prepared to file a multiple offender bill that would have carried stiffer penalties, Morvant said.

<p>A Larose man will serve 15 years in prison after pleading no contest Wednesday to charges that he intentionally exposed Lafourche Parish sheriff's deputies to HIV and drove while drunk.</p><p>Reggie Guilbeau, 41, plead guilty in court to his fifth driving while intoxicated charge and no contest to three counts of intentional exposure of a peace officer to AIDS. AIDS, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, is a condition caused by HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus.</p><p>Guilbeau accepted a plea deal the District Attorney's Office offered in 2010 in which he agreed to serve 15 years for DWI and the maximum sentence for the intentional exposure charges, according to District Attorney Cam Morvant. All of the sentences are to be served concurrently, resulting in a 15-year sentence.</p><p>The maximum sentence for intentional exposure of a peace officer to AIDS is 11 years.</p><p>State law says “no person shall intentionally expose a police officer to any AIDS virus through any means or contact without the knowing and lawful consent of the police officer when the offender has reasonable grounds to believe the victim is a police officer acting in the performance of his duty.”</p><p>In August 2010, Lafourche sheriff's deputies responded to a domestic disturbance at Guilbeau's home, according to Sheriff's Office reports. He and his girlfriend were drinking all day when they began fighting. Guilbeau's girlfriend, Monique Ayo, had scratched his face during their fight. Guilbeau threw an ice chest at her car and shattered the windshield.</p><p>When deputies arrived, Guilbeau was not there anymore. Guilbeau arrived shortly after the deputies, according to reports.</p><p>Guilbeau was belligerently drunk when he pulled up in his Ford F-150 truck and deputies placed him under arrest, reports say. He kicked a deputy in the shin while he was placed in a squad car. Then he repeatedly kicked the door. While deputies attempted to subdue Guilbeau, he told them he was going to have them fired and threatened to kill them. He was being questioned by one of the deputies when he kicked him and referred to him with a racial slur.</p><p>Later, while being booked, Guilbeau laughed as he said he was HIV positive and hoped the deputies contracted HIV from the scratch on his face, according to reports.</p><p>Guilbeau also refused to breathe into the blood-alcohol content analyzer, according to reports.</p><p>While deputies were discussing this in another room, they heard Guilbeau screaming, reports say. When they returned they found Guilbeau with his pants around his ankles and feces on the floor. Guilbeau said he could hold it no more, according to police reports.</p><p>“There is no HIV in fecal material unless there is blood. So there is no chance of transmission of HIV from fecal matter,” said Dr. Ronald Wilcox, program director for Delta AIDS Education Training Center in New Orleans.</p><p>Guilbeau also spit on a deputy while being transferred to Lafourche jail, according to police reports.</p><p>According Morvant, all that is needed to be convicted of intentional exposure of a peace officer to AIDS is intent.</p><p>Prosecutors were prepared to call eight to 10 witnesses for a trial scheduled for Wednesday, Morvant said. The trial would have lasted up to three days. </p><p>If he was found guilty during trial, Guilbeau could have faced a maximum of 30 years with hard labor for his fifth DWI. Prosecutors were prepared to file a multiple offender bill that would have carried stiffer penalties, Morvant said.</p>